


When the Weather Outside is Frightful

by hibiren



Series: Jay's Gladnis Collection [9]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gladnis, Holidays, Huddling For Warmth, Humor, M/M, Memories, Movie Night, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Short, Snowed In, gladnis holiday weekend, sequel fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 05:58:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17115731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: Ignis and Gladio spend a cold day indoors, waiting for the power to return due to a second snowstorm. Watching The Nutcracker on their little battery-powered DVD player reveals some surprising secrets about Ignis...





	When the Weather Outside is Frightful

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the final day of the Gladnis Holiday Weekend and is also a continuation of my previous fic "A Break Between Snowstorms" - I chose the prompt "Cuddling Under the Blankets" for this although there is a hint of "Confessions" and the bonus "Snowed In" thrown in there as well. It's silly, but please enjoy! :D

The second round of the blizzard that overtook town hit a lot harder than they’d been expecting. Somehow, through most of the evening so far the power only flickered off twice, and returned within about an hour’s wait. The worst part of the power going out, for Ignis, was the lack of heating. To try to avoid this, Gladio and Ignis had gathered all of their blankets onto their bed and burrowed beneath them into their makeshift blanket-fort-tent.

To pass the time as the snow rustled against the windows, Ignis had set up their little battery powered DVD player with Ignis’ copy of The Nutcracker, hoping to pass the snow day with some good theatrical ballet. Ignis was surprised to find Gladio rather enjoying himself, snuggled up close under a thick comforter next to his lover and holding a mug of hot coffee in one hand.

“Y’know, Iris and I used to watch The Nutcracker every year,” Gladio mused, eyes gleaming in nostalgia as he spoke. “Brings back some good memories… can’t say I’ve seen this version, though. Must be new?”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to have a taste for this sort of thing, but, you always pleasantly surprise me.” Ignis smiled before taking a sip of the coffee he held in a mug to match Gladio’s. The coffee was somewhat metallic, bitter, the taste of cheap instant grounds, but - it was warm, and therefore welcome in the chilled evening. The weather forecasted another few hours of snow, and no one was sure of the total expected amount of snowfall yet. At the worst, it would all freeze over the previous days’ snow and create more blockages on the roads, leaving them stranded inside for another few days.

They were lucky to have a grocery store at a short walk’s distance, but before they could get there, the staff had been blockading people from the doors saying “we’re closed!” and “you can’t go in!” - there was much shivered grumbling from both Gladio and Ignis (and some swearing from the former, who hated having to trudge there in his good boots).

Ever prepared to fight off the cold, Gladio had their little generator going; both of their phones were plugged in and charging, and they had made use of their small coffee brewer just before then to make their coffee. He had even managed to use their brewer to make Cup Noodle, which impressed Ignis. There was always a creative solution for Gladio, and whenever the power went out his camping-survival skills were always put to the test.

As a familiar song started, Ignis returned his attention to the small screen tucked between them.

“Oh, I remember this, this is the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. This was always my favorite part,” Ignis admitted, hiding his awkward expression with another sip of coffee. “The dancing is so beautiful, so controlled… I envy her, you know.”

“What are you talking about? I guarantee you’ve got as much grace as she does.” Gladio’s eyebrow raised skeptically at Ignis’ comment but he kept any further comments back.

“Aside from yesterday, when I tumbled face-first into the snow, you mean? I’m not as, um… ‘graceful’ as I used to be. I… have a bit of a confession, I suppose. I used to…”

Gladio leaned in close, as if about to hear something gossip-worthy, but kept his expression of excitement muted. “Used to what, Iggy?”

“I… used to…  _ dance ballet... with the local company…” _ Immediately, Ignis buried his face in another long, deliberately drawn-out drink of coffee, which turned into a sputter as he heard Gladio make a noise of surprise.

“So, you danced in stuff like The Nutcracker?”

“Yes, actually… I  _ was _ the Nutcracker. Junior production… when I was very young. Couldn’t have been more than ten or twelve years old.”

“Oh my gods, that’s too cute.  _ Please  _ tell me you have it recorded somewhere.”

“...We’re watching it.”

_ “No way,” _ Gladio whispered, completely struck off guard. That Nutcracker  _ did _ have a familiar face… but… never would he have guessed that it was Ignis dancing. He thought it was just an odd coincidence, or his mind playing tricks on him… “Iggy, that’s awesome. I had no idea! You know, if you wanted to dance again, I won’t complain.”

Ignis shrugged and just leaned his head on Gladio’s warm shoulder, setting his now-empty cup of coffee to the side. “I don’t really have the time anymore, what with our jobs and keeping up with our flat… And besides, I’m trained in more than just ballet. Ballroom dancing, a bit of jazz, for theater… I thought… it would help my coordination. Much of my childhood was spent in the arts, but, my interest had to subside over time as my responsibilities increased.”

“Mm. I… I know how that feels. It’s why I wish I had more time to read. I find time when I can but I used to read a new book every week. It’s odd, getting older, you think you’ll have more time, only to find out you have too much to do... and what little freedom you do have you often end up sleeping through it so you miss out on actually enjoying the extra few hours.”

“But… we can’t get into work, since it’s closed. Our only grace is that we’ll be getting paid this week so we won’t have to worry about overtime until next paycheck.”

“Ugh… overtime. Don’t get me started.”

Their conversation faded off as the ballet continued, and they huddled close together for as much warmth as they possibly could. For a brief moment Ignis did entertain the idea of returning to a formal dance company - but as he said, he simply didn’t have the time, or the extra funding, to do so. There were times where, when he had the apartment to himself, he would dance, fighting to remember the steps to his old routines as any familiar songs played through their stereo.

It was honestly a silly thing to be embarrassed about, Ignis thought to himself as he let himself be lost in the memories of his dancing days. There were plenty of other male dancers in his company. He had just kept it secret for so long, especially since this particular rendition of The Nutcracker was very early in what would have been his career… but other, more important things came up and prevented him from continuing.

“You okay?” Gladio asked, and his warm voice drew Ignis from his mind almost instantly.

“Hm? Yes. Just… thinking.”

Without any other questions, Gladio wrapped his warm arms around Ignis’ somehow still slightly cold body and held him close. He left a gentle kiss on Ignis’ forehead and the two shared happy smiles.

“I’m just glad even though the weather kinda sucks, we’ve got all the time in the world for this. Wouldn’t give it up for anything else... Although having the power back on would be nice.”

Ignis chuckled and nodded his agreement, and the two finished their movie remaining close together; Ignis holding gently onto Gladio’s hand and giving intermittent squeezes as if to silently thank him for understanding his embarrassment regarding his confession, and Gladio happily squeezing back in acknowledgement of his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Ah I think out of all three this was my favorite to write! I'm sad to know that the gladnis holiday weekend is over but I had so much fun writing all these little drabbles!  
> ((Fun fact: that bit about them walking to the grocery store in the snow and it being closed is a true story - I'd done that myself a few weeks ago and had to walk all the way back to my apartment since I got there literally TWO MINUTES after they decided to start kicking people out of the store ; ~ ; I'd just wanted some chips so I stubbornly sloshed my way up to the gas station across the street and got my blizzard snacks there. But now I can say I've done it so, fanfic-worthy life experiences anyone? lol))


End file.
